CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Sgt. Lindsey Souza and Staff Sgt. Stephen Kelley, a married couple in Troop R, 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, spent the morning of their deployment, with Family and friends, trying to keep their moods upbeat and not think about what awaited them in the next few hours.
As time for them to leave grew near, they said their goodbyes and prepared to leave, but they knew they would be leaving a part of themselves behind; that part was a three-year-old little girl named Taylor.
Souza and Kelley are just one of several deployed couples who have to rely on Family members back home to take care of little ones they had to leave behind.
"Leaving her was the hardest thing I've ever done," said Souza, the training and operations noncommissioned officer for Troop R and a native of Kailua, Hawaii. "We decided it would be best if we said our goodbyes to Taylor at our house, instead of on post right before we left."
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